There’s no easy answer to this problem. You may think there is, but there’s not.

The Rockets already have suggested he take another chunk of time off. He declined, saying he wants to play through the pain in his left knee this time and will take off selected games.

So he’s terrible in a loss at Toronto on Friday and didn’t play Saturday night in Atlanta. Sometimes in, sometimes out.

Tricky problem for club

It’s one thing to be limited by pain. It’s another thing to sulk on the floor. There’s no excuse for McGrady’s behavior Friday.

There’s a delicate balance in dealing with a superstar. I can only imagine what coach Rick Adelman and general manager Daryl Morey would say if they were pumped full of truth serum. Adelman previously asked McGrady to practice only when he could practice hard.

This offense is based on players cutting, moving, passing and getting comfortable with one another. If the No. 1 guy isn’t out there, it’s hard to make things go smoothly.

McGrady sets a tone, too. When he isn’t into it, Ron Artest has moments when he simply gives up on the offense and does whatever he wants.

Bad influence on Artest

If things are clicking, if the ball is moving, he’s unlikely to do this. On nights when McGrady is playing at half-speed, when things are going south, Artest is much more likely to go south, too.

This is the risk of bringing in Artest. He’s an amazingly talented player, but he’s, uh, different.

You probably think McGrady should be ordered off the floor for a while, that he’s helping no one, particularly the Rockets. You’re right about this.

It’s not just that McGrady is playing the worst basketball of his career. He is. He’s shooting 28 percent and averaging 8.2 points over his last five games. His 15 points per game and 39.5 percent shooting for the season are career lows.

Here’s the tough part. The Rockets have enough talent to make the playoffs without him. They’re 5-4 when he doesn’t play and 16-10 when he does.

Luther Head plays with more confidence when McGrady isn’t around. In fact, they all do.

I asked a player why the Rockets looked so much more energetic without McGrady.

“You feel wanted,” the player said.

He meant that when McGrady is on the floor, players naturally defer to him. McGrady doesn’t demand this. In fact, he tells players to play their games and let him get his stuff in the flow of the game.

When he’s out, their natural talents surface. There’s better ball movement and a much smoother look to the offense.

Yet the Rockets must have McGrady playing at a high level to make any noise in the playoffs. That’s the bottom line. At the moment, they can’t win with him. During the playoffs, they can’t win without him.

The Rockets keep hoping that if he continues to play, he’ll eventually gain the strength and comfort he needs to be the real Tracy McGrady.

I don’t know how hard he’s working at rehab. I heard for a while he was working very hard. I’m not so sure now.

Would it be best for the Rockets if he took another stretch of games off? Sure, it would.

That’s what your local high school coach would make a player do. That kind of thing isn’t reality in the NBA.

NBA players have leverage. Players who, like McGrady, make $21 million have all the leverage.

The Rockets can’t order him to do anything. They simply must hope he’ll do the right thing.

The Rockets can’t risk losing McGrady mentally, so they plod along, hoping he’s capable of playing at a high level, trusting him to be honest about how his knee is feeling.

This is another nightmare for a franchise that is run by good, competent people, by people who don’t deserve this.

No other sports franchise in this city is run as well as the Rockets. Leslie Alexander will spend to win. Morey is terrific. Adelman is a pro’s pro.

This season began with justifiably high expectations. The Rockets could never have imagined McGrady would still be slowed by last summer’s knee surgery.

The Rockets have tried everything. He tried to play through the pain. Then he played fewer minutes. Then he rested it. He definitely did work hard for a while.

Here’s to his health

They’ve got a good record, but it’s not nearly what they hoped it would be. They wanted to be mentioned in the same breath with the Lakers and Celtics.

Now they don’t appear to be as good as Orlando, Cleveland and San Antonio.

Even worse have been those damning losses to the Wizards, Clippers, Pacers, etc. Those are games that good teams take care of.

Part of me says this team is in real trouble. Yet it’s only Jan. 4, and there’s plenty of time to get everyone on the same page.

It’s all on McGrady. All the Rockets can do is listen to him, hope he’s telling them the truth, and then pray he’ll be at full speed within a few weeks.

If that happens, there will be time to get rolling for the playoffs. If it doesn’t, well, there’s always the NFL draft.